


Harvard

by LadyKeane



Series: The Wounded Warrior [3]
Category: Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, lowkey legally blonde vibes???, rambunctious daughter will always be rambunctious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 07:04:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19351912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKeane/pseuds/LadyKeane
Summary: A piece of domestic fluff set in the WW universe, concerning the girls' adulthood vocations (among other things).





	Harvard

**Author's Note:**

  * For [teacupballerina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/teacupballerina/gifts).



  
For the seventh time that day, Blossom withdrew the letter from her pocket, fiddled with it restively, and promptly tripped up on a crack in the sidewalk.  
‘You’re obsessing,’ Gus told her, as he extended a spindly black claw to help her up. ‘You wanna get to Harvard in one piece, don’t you?’  
‘That’s if the Professor doesn’t lock me in my old room until I’m forty.’  
‘Nah, he’s more likely to just fit you with one of those house arrest ankle bracelets.’  
  
Blossom knew he was joking. But the dense metallic dread in the pit of her stomach had only been increasing throughout the day. With every step they took closer to the Utonium family home, Blossom imagined another grim scenario: Bubbles bursting into tears, and Buttercup cussing her out. Hime shutting down, doing that frigid, passive-aggressive thing she did whenever she was disappointed. The Professor disowning her.  
After all, she was about to do the unthinkable, and break up the Powerpuff Girls.  
  
Harvard Law School had been the Big Pipe Dream. She had lovingly crafted fantasies about walking those hallowed halls and being forged into a formidable family attorney, primed to do more good in the world than ever before. She would dream of this during her down time: whenever she had a weekend off, a sleepless night, or just needed a break from studying. After graduating from Townsville University with a formidable GPA, she had scored an internship with a respectable law firm in the city. But poring over case files, copying documents and fetching coffee was not quite scratching her itch. And God forbid if the girls were called out on a mission by Mayor Bellum - Blossom’s boss had barely, begrudgingly allowed it.  
  
She clutched her boyfriend’s claw a fraction tighter, as they reached the front door of the Utonium home.  
  
‘It’s open,’ Hime’s distracted call echoed out from the kitchen.  
‘Will you just calm DOWN!? It’s not a big deal!’ Came Buttercup’s heartier voice from the living room.  
Gus and Blossom entered to an intense but familiar tableau: the Professor stood with arms tightly crossed, staring down his tomboy daughter, who slouched on the sofa next to Ace. Bubbles and Robyn leant by the fireplace, obviously enjoying the histrionics.  
  
‘This was gonna happen eventually, Daddy-o, why not just get it out of the way now?’  
The Professor spluttered hotly at this. ‘”Get it out of the way”?’ You’re talking as if it’s some kind of menial housework! Buttercup, this is going to change your life in the most drastic way possible!’  
  
‘I think it’s exciting,’ Bubbles said, ‘do let us know how we can help!’  
‘Well… a small loan would be much appreciated,’ Ace replied, ‘since our household income will obviously be reduced while-‘  
‘We’ll get by. Thanks but no thanks,’ Buttercup replied firmly. ‘Professor, this is my life and my choice to make. What’s done is done. Anyway, I woulda thought you’d be excited to welcome your first grandkid into the world.’  
Blossom and Gus shared a mute, gobsmacked Look.  
  
The patriarch’s bearing softened slightly. ‘Honey, you know we’ll support you no matter what. But… you’re still so young! You were only made constable last year! And… well, you and Ace haven’t exactly settled down together yet. Not that that’s important.’  
Buttercup grimaced. ‘Would this be a good time to mention that he proposed last night?’  
  
There had been an afternoon in the girls’ childhood when the Professor had come home from work to discover the living room a wreck, clutter strewn everywhere and mud tracked across the carpet, as Buttercup roughhoused with a bouncy stray corgi (who, it turned out, had simply wandered off from his home a few blocks away). And, without the slightest trace of shame, Buttercup had announced that she had found the new family pet.  
If one could take the look on the Professor’s face that day, one would have to multiply it by a ginormous and frankly improbable number to truly match the horror that had now taken hold of the Utonium patriarch.  
  
‘Let’s go help Hime,’ Blossom suggested to Gus, and they escaped to the kitchen.  
  
‘Are they still at it?’ Hime greeted, as she plucked a steamer of vegetables off the stove.  
‘Did Buttercup tell you the news?’ Blossom asked.  
‘Oh yes, she called me last night. While it’s all happening faster than I would like, I’m quite pleased. As rough and tumble as your sister is, she’s going to be a great mom. It might also help to make her a little more… settled.’  
  
‘The Professor, on the other hand…’ Blossom said.  
Hime sighed, and handed her a stack of plates to set at the table. ‘I tried to prime him this morning. We had a little talk about how much you girls have grown. If anything, it just put him on edge. Honestly, I think it’s partially because of his sixtieth coming up. I haven’t dared broach the subject of birthday festivities.’  
  
‘Uhm… speaking of news…’ Blossom began. The acceptance letter still sat heavy in her pocket. She was unsure if Buttercup’s little bundle of revelations would make it easier or harder to share her own news.  
Hime perked up, her maternal intuition roused. ‘Oh, sweetheart - who did you hear back from this time? UCLA? Stanford?’  
Blossom inhaled through clenched teeth. ‘Harvard.’  
  
*  
  
Utonium family lunches were usually genial, laid back affairs, with large helpings of offhanded chatter and levity passed around the table. Blossom was currently stabbing at a well-stabbed pile of green beans, her eyes darting from one relative to another, awaiting the next outburst.  
  
‘So… I’m gonna be revamping the website for Snyder Apples,’ Bubbles piped up. ‘Robyn’s parents were impressed with the job I did for Pokey Oaks Choral Society, and they’ve agreed to match what I was paid for that gig.’  
‘Mom and Dad never progressed past 2005,’ Robyn added, ‘their current website still uses Flash! ’  
As the girlfriends giggled together, Buttercup moodily slumped in her chair.  
‘Wow, stubborn parents who refuse to move with the times, what a surprise.’  
  
The Professor’s temper flared. ‘It’s not being stubborn to ask that you step back and consider the consequences of marrying and having a child in the space of a few short months!’  
‘I’m just being practical! What, you don’t think I’m up to the challenge!?’  
‘That’s not what I-’  
Hime cut off her husband by rising with a great scrape of her chair across the tiles. A stiff smile was plastered across her face. ‘I’ve made cherry pie for dessert.’  
  
It was a little hard for Buttercup and the Professor to continue their argument while Hime was enlisting the family to clear the table and collect servings of pie. She plied them with cups of tea and scoops of ice cream on the side. Blossom had to hand it to her mother. The girl’s understanding of tactical strategy and applied Machiavellianism had been learnt from many years of watching Hime execute truly marvellous acts of familial wrangling.  
‘So…’ Hime said, as she sat back down, ‘I believe Blossom also has some exciting news.’  
Buttercup scoffed. ‘Don’t tell me you’re preggers, too. Those big horns on Gus’ head make me a bit worried for your-’  
‘No,’ Blossom snapped, ‘nothing like that. I… got a letter from Harvard Law School this morning.’  
As one, the family leaned into her. Their eyes were like a dozen contracted little laser sights.  
‘Um,’ she withdrew the letter from her pocket, fumbling as she unfolded it. ‘I, uh…’  
‘She got into the J. D. Program,’ Gus helped.  
  
Gushes of delight rushed forth.  
‘Oh, Blossom, I’m so proud of you!’  
‘Way to go, Red!’  
‘You’re gonna be a lawyer!’  
‘When do you start?’ Asked the Professor.  
‘The course begins in August. Gus is gonna come with me to Boston!’  
Another uneasy silence fell around the table.  
Buttercup looked to her father. ‘Go on, why don’t you tell her that it’s too far away? That roping Gus into the move is a huge commitment?’  
‘Buttercup,’ her mother warned.  
  
The Professor’s eyes met Blossom’s. ‘This is what you want, isn’t it?’  
Blossom rested her hand upon Gus’. ‘More than anything.’  
The Professor sat back in his chair, considering his daughters. ‘You know, once I finished my PhD, and realised I’d spent my entire youth focused on perfecting one single task, I found myself completely adrift. So much achievement, and no-one to share it with. And that’s when I realised: I wanted a child. More than anything.’  
  
‘When my wish came true, I found myself in over my head. I had three children, with incredible powers. And for all the blood, sweat, and utter overwhelm that parenting lay on me, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened in my life. And along the way, I got to marry the woman of my dreams.’ He shared a doting glance with Hime, and then exhaled heavily.  
‘It can be hard to let you girls fly off to fight such savage battles. But in the end, I have to let you flourish. I can only wish for all three of you to be blessed with the same kind of blood, sweat, and overwhelm as I was.’  
He took a breath to continue, but was cut off by Buttercup, pulling him into a  
fierce bear hug.  
‘I love you, Dad.’  
He hugged his daughter even tighter, and his voice grew shaky. ‘Can I be called “Poppy”? I don’t wanna be “Grandpa”.’  
‘Well, you named me after a flower.’  
  
With the tension having finally melted away, the cherry pie was finished off amongst free and cheerful chatter.  
‘You know, we are going to miss you,’ Hime told Blossom.  
‘Will ya come visit when the kid’s arrived?’ Buttercup asked.  
‘Of course I will! And if a monster attacks Townsville while I’m gone, I want you girls to facetime me.’  
‘So you can boss us around?’ Buttercup snarked.  
‘No… well, yeah. But mostly so I don’t miss out on any of the action!’  
‘Come to think of it,’ said Bubbles, ‘Buttercup may need to go on a Powerpuff Girls sabbatical in her condition.’  
  
The sisters then realised - for the first time ever, their team would be unavoidably split up.  
Blossom rallied herself. ‘It’s alright. Whatever happens, we’ll manage. We’ll face the blood, sweat and overwhelm together!’  
  
*  
  
That night, back at her apartment, Blossom started packing for Harvard, alone.  
As she sifted through the stacks of clothes in her wardrobe, it was hard to stave off the flood of memories and associations that came flowing in. Her sparkling white prom dress, chosen after a joyfully long spate of boutique shopping with Hime. The silly Christmas sweater that the Professor had bought her. The singed and patched pair of jeans she had worn, when the girls had battled a real-life fire  
breathing dragon (the poor thing was just lost, a few helpful directions and he was sent on his way back to Monster Island). Her favourite burgundy tunic, the one Buttercup had spotted at an open air market and suggested Blossom try on. The tomboy had paid for it, in an impulsive gesture of generosity.  
She gazed at the Townsville skyline out the window, fully realising what she would be leaving behind. Did Harvard have any need for superheroes?

‘Hey,’ came Gus’ voice from the doorway. He held two steaming cups of tea in his claws.  
She gratefully sipped on her drink. He always prepared it exceedingly sweet and milky. She would never admit she preferred it that way.  
‘Thank you,’ she said.  
Gus shrugged. ‘It’s just tea.’  
‘I mean, for being willing to move all the way to the east coast. Away from our family and friends.’  
  
He sat down on their bed, and willed her to do the same. ‘I spent a few years as a kid living in Boston. It’ll be interesting to see what’s changed.’ He slurped loudly at his tea.  
‘You won’t miss Townsville?’  
He set his mug down on the nightstand and fixed her with intense black eyes.  
‘I’d miss _you.’  
_  
She melted, resting her hand on his cheek.  
‘Do you really wanna be alone in a town that doesn’t know what a hero they have in you? Where people might call you a freak? I figure if I go there with you,  
we can be freaks together.’  
‘The Harvard Freak Brigade,’ Blossom chuckled.  
‘We’ll make up a secret handshake. One that involves shooting fireballs into the air.’  
‘That oughta go over well. On the fourth of July, at least.’  
Their shared laughter trailed off. ‘But what will you do there?’  
‘I could do research of my own. I’ve been thinking about starting a postgrad course that will let me study my past life more closely. You know that Harvard  
housed one of the vessels rumoured to be the _Akuma-No-Hakashitsu…_ ’  
Blossom examined him for a moment. ‘Maybe that’s the sort of thing you shouldn’t undertake all alone.’  
‘Exactly.’  
Blossom felt herself being pulled into a slow, tender embrace. ‘We’ll look out for each other,’ Gus promised. ‘Like always.’  
  
She kissed him firmly and fully, loving him.


End file.
